The 3,100-acre redevelopment project by Tradepoint Atlantic at the former Sparrows Point steel mill has been awarded $20 million in federal grant funds for infrastructure work.

The U.S. Department of Transportation announced the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery, or TIGER, grant on Wednesday. The funds will be matched by private investment from Tradepoint Atlantic, Baltimore County officials said.

It is the latest boost for the ongoing redevelopment of the peninsula that has attracted tenants including Under Armour, FedEx Ground and Harley Davidson. Amazon.com is building a 900,000-square-foot distribution center there, to open within a year.

The TIGER grant funds will help to pay for infrastructure upgrades to make the site compatible to "21st century cargo," county officials said in October when the grant application was submitted.

In 2016, the county created the Chesapeake Enterprise Zone at Tradepoint Atlantic, which designated it as a foreign trade area. The zone allowed the developers to seek options for global commerce in eastern Baltimore County, including the building of a deep-water port for international cargo.

In addition, the General Assembly in 2016 granted a tax abatement on Maryland's 6 percent sales tax for construction materials and distribution supplies at Tradepoint.

“This public-private infrastructure investment will ignite job creation in Baltimore County and the entire region by speeding up the turnaround of Sparrows Point from a shuttered steelmaking site into a modern hub for global commerce,” Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz said in a statement.

The grant funds will be used for structural upgrades to the site's "east-west berth" to help redevelop the site to handle cargo. It will also be spent to strengthen bulkheads, dredge the port area at Tradepoint Atlantic's waterfront for deep water ships access to the marine terminal. Other upgrades will be focused on the site's existing short-line rail and highway systems.

Aaron Tomarchio, senior vice president at Tradepoint Atlantic, said the private developers teamed with Baltimore County to seek the TIGER grant. The county will not be providing any matching funds.

“By partnering with Baltimore County to secure this federal grant for infrastructure investment, we can continue our commitment to create a first-class facility dedicated to increasing long term job creation in the Baltimore region and lowering prices of American export and import consumer goods,” Tomarchio said in a statement.

The grant will be administered by the county's Department of Economic and Workforce Development. It will be spent over four years.

Last year, FedEx Ground opened a distribution hub on 47 acres at Tradepoint Atlantic. The $58 million warehouse operation totals 306,016 square feet. Nearby, Under Armour is putting the finishing touches on its 1.3-million-square-foot distribution center.

Last year, Tradepoint built a 1-million-square-foot warehouse facility on speculation at the site.

Tradepoint Atlantic's investors, Hanover-based Redwood Capital and Chicago-based Hilco Global, purchased the former steel mill site out of bankruptcy for $110 million in 2014. Redwood is an investment firm led by Allegis Group head Jim Davis, who the BBJ recently profiled for a cover story.